Railroad car stop



March 27, 1962 s. BARKSDALE RAILROAD CAR sToP /l 0% nah DID HLM INVENTOR l ATTORNEY Filed March 25, 1960 United States Patent C) 3,026,818 RAILROAD CAR STOP Leon S. Barksdale, 4000 74th St. N., St. Petersburg, Fla. Filed Mar. 23, 1960, Ser. No. 17,216 Claims. (Cl. 104--249) The present invention relates to a new and improved car stop for railway tracks.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a railway car stop device which can be readily and economically fabricated from standard rail sections.

In carrying out the invention, a portion of a standard railroad rail is cut or slit longitudinally intermediate the ball and flange of the rail, the ball portion thereof being curved upwardly to provide a curved portion extending from the flange to a height slightly above that of the axis of railway car wheels, and then reversely bent so as to provide a strut portion to project downwardly with the end thereof normally disposed slightly short of the web of the rail so that when a car wheel is stopped by engaging the curved portion of the rail, the rail may ex or yield and the limit of the yield will be determined by the engagement of the end of the strut portion with the rail web. Preferably, bracing means is interposed between the curved portion of the rail forming the car wheel stop and the horizontal web portion of the rail beneath the curved portion to cooperate in forming a limit to the deflection of the rail `during a car stopping operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a car stop embodying the invention showing the truck of a car in a stopped position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view, taken along line 2-2 of FIG. l, but on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the car stop shown in FIG. l; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the free end of the ball portion of the rail.

In the form of the invention disclosed, only one car stop device is shown but it is to be understood that, in use, two such car stops are provided, one on each rail of a track and they `are Idisposed directly opposite one another so as to operate conjointly to stop the movement of Ia car or the like on the rails. Referring to FIG. l, the car stop is formed by a section of a standard railroad rail which includes the usual flange 11, web 12 and ball 13. Preferably, web 12 is separated as by cutting or slitting, along -a line starting at the left hand end of rail, as viewed in the drawings, and extending intermediate ange 11 and ball 13 and terminating at 12a, thereby forming a webbed section 12e projecting upwardly from flange 11 and a web section 12d projecting downwardly from ball 13. Ball 13 is curved upwardly, commencing at point 13a, in an arc having its radius substantially the same as that of a wheel W of a standard railway car. Preferably, the arc of the ball portion of the rail extends to a height above the axis of car wheel W and is then reversely curved as at 13b to provide a strut section 13C which extends to web 12C. Preferably, web 12c is notched at 12e and the lower end of strut section 13c is slotted as at 13d, which slot receives web 12e therein. The rail is severed at the left hand end of notch 12e and a short web and ball portion 12b is welded to web 12C, as shown in FIG. l. By this arrangement the arcuate portion of ball 13 may yield or be flexed to the left about point 13a, and the left hand end of strut section 13C may slide longitudinally along web 12C until the inner edge of slot 13d strikes the left hand end of notch 12e.

To provide a relatively rigid brace to prevent excessive deflection of strut section 131.` from the force of wheel W moving against the arcuate section, a plate 14, generally triangular in shape, is interposed between webs 1'2c and 12d, the plate being somewhat thicker than these webs and having a |groove 14a in the right hand edge and a groove 14b in the bottom thereof, which grooves receive webs 12d and 12C, respectively, and which maintain plate 14 positioned between the webs. The outlined dimensions of plate 14 are somewhat less than the dimensions of the opening dened by the edges of web sections 12e and 12d, so that a space 15 is provided between the left hand sloping edge of plate 14 and the opposed web 12d and strut section 13e to permit shifting 0f the plate.

In practice, two car stop devices are attached to ties T at the end of a track by riveting tie plates 16 to anges 11, as by rivets 17, the tie plates having openings to receive the usual rail spikes 18 which are driven into the ties. By this arrangement the car stop devices are securely attached to the ties and will withstand considerable shocks.

It will be seen that when the wheels W of a car engage the up-swept portion of a car stop, the curved rail structure will yield slightly causing plate 14 to slide toward the left and to cause the lower end of strut section 13e to engage the left hand end of notch 12e which, together with the plate 14, provides a positive stop to limit deflection of the ball portion of the rail structure. The yielding prevents shocks which might otherwise result in breakage of parts of the car stop so that a durable and yet relatively light weight car stop is provided. By securing the rail to the tie plates, the car stop device is rmly anchored in place and cannot be torn from the track except under exceptional conditions.

While I have described but one form of the invention, it is to be understood that other forms, modifications and adaptations could be made, all falling within the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

l. A railway car stop comprising a length of rail including a ange, a vertical web and a ball, said rail having a section in which the ball is separate from the ange and curves upwardly on an arc about a center above the rail ball as an arcuate portion, and said separate ball having a strut portion extending downwardly from said arcuate portion for engaging said ange to serve as a brace.

2. A railway car stop comprising a length of rail including a flange, a vertical web and a ball, said rail having a section in which the ball is separate from the flange and curves upwardly on an arc about a center above the rail ball as an arcuate portion and has a strut portion extending downwardly from said arcuate portion for engaging said flange to serve as a brace, and blocking means interposed between said arcuate portion and the flange of said section.

portions, and said blocking means comprises a plate having recesses to receive the web portions of said separate ball and flange.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Told Mar. 14, 1933 Townsend Mar. 24, 1942 

